FORBIDDEN LOVE FINAL EPISODE

As scared as I was, I told the truth. I told her from the beginning to the end. The first time I was raped by uncle Sam to what had been going on between us. She couldn’t believe her ears after I stopped talking.

“Mesomma, tell me this is not true. Ewo oooo. Ewo ooo. Àrù  (abomination in igbo language). How can Samuel do this? Ahh Samuel! ị na-adịghị egwu Chineke (Samuel, you don’t have the fear of God in igbo language)” I watched as my aunt cried while lamenting. She was an older sister to uncle Sam who were both from my paternal side. My mum had no sibling so I had no aunts or uncles from my maternal side.

My aunt could only shed tears. Now that uncle Sam was dead, it was too late. Too late to prevent all that already happened. I kept mute and watch my aunt cry in pain.

The next minute, aunty Jennifer walked in. She entered and met aunty Mary crying so she asked what happened. Nothing could come out of our mouths. Aunty Mary suddenly stopped crying, looked up at aunty Jennifer and said;

“Sam is responsible for Meso’s pregnancy.”

“Which Sam?” She asked looking confused and when none of us could speak, she got very angry.

“You’re telling me Samuel, my husband, impregnated Mesomma ehh aunty?” She said looking at aunty Mary, then glanced at me before bursting into tears. She immediately left the room and aunty Mary followed her behind I guess trying to calm her down. My heart was racing; I don’t know why. I wanted to just be dead that moment. Things were going to get worse, I knew that for sure.

A week later, I was discharged from the hospital. Aunty Mary had spoken to me concerning my pregnancy and moving to Port Harcourt with her. Nobody spoke plenty about my pregnancy even relatives that visited me during my stay at the hospital. There were times they spoke to me about certain things and spoke in private amongst themselves but nobody ever mentioned uncle Sam. I didn’t even see aunty Jennifer after that day at the hospital. Everyone now knew that uncle Sam was the father of my unborn child which was regarded as foul, an abominable act. Many couldn’t believe it and some even denied him as a relative and friend. You could tell from their faces and behavior that they were all disappointed in both of us. I saw it coming so I always tried to hide my face from the shame. I was never beaten or anything but I was counselled several times. Things were definitely not the same again.

A month after, I was already in Port Harcourt with my aunt, her family, and Esther. One night, she called me and spoke to me concerning everything that had and was happening. She said she knew nobody spoke about uncle Sam because of what he did and that she was very disappointed in him but she was disappointed in me too. She said she wasn’t saying it to make me feel bad but to know how she really feels because I could have prevented a lot of things. She looks at my tummy and says;

“Meso, this wouldn’t have been so. You are just a baby having baby. It’s not right and as much as I don’t want to mention this, your parents would have wanted better. There’s no need to start feeling guilty or sad hmm Meso! ị na- ege ntị?(are you listening in igbo language).” I nod when she says this even though tears were already appearing in my eyes before she continues. “…Life has to move on. Ama m na ị nwere isi (I know that you have sense in igbo language) but my dear you have to be careful. You’re just a fourteen years old, a child. I know that things will change and become different. People will talk and say what is more than their mouth. You will see things differently but all is not what it seems. Always remember that you have an elder sister who looks up to you. You are older than Chinyere and Ijeoma (two of my cousins who are her children) who also look up to you as an older sister. Please, Meso. Try to do what is best. Confide in me if you need help and I’ll always be there for you. ị nugo (Have you heard?)” These words stuck to my head like a magnet.

After we spoke for a while, we heard the bell ring. I thanked my aunt before going to see who was at the door. “Good evening sir,” I said, opening the door to pastor Francis. He was the pastor from the church my aunt attended. He was told about my situation and I had been counselled by him several times. He opened my eyes to the things I wished I had seen earlier. He told me that God had forgiven me as long as my heart was fully repented. I used to feel different and ashamed to do anything or even go to church with my aunt and her family but later on, it became the least of my problem. Pastor Francis counselled me that day as usual and asked about my well being before leaving.

After about 7 months of ups and downs, I gave birth to my babies. The night of my labor was not a good one for me. I had just gotten dressed after taking a bath when my water broke. Luckily, everyone was at home that day so they managed to rush me to the nearest hospital. For two and a half hours, I was in labor. The most painful state I had ever been. I almost gave up because I couldn’t bear the pain neither could I breathe properly. I managed to survive the whole process and delivered my twin boys. They looked very adorable but I felt a bit sad. I hadn’t planned to have children for my uncle neither did I plan on being a mother at fourteen but even with all the sadness, my babies gave me happiness because they were innocent. With the days and times that past, my relatives, especially my aunt helped me with all they could. I was helped in looking after the babies and assisted in doing a lot of things. I even started school a few months later. It wasn’t very easy with my babies but I managed. Sometimes, I looked at Esther and thought of what she might think of me and the stigma that I may have caused but because she only showed me love and care, I could only try to be happy. I promised myself to be a better person. To try my possible best to give good examples and slowly erase the bad even though damage had already been done. Many a times, I heard gossips about me but ignored it as much as I could. My aunt was a very strong pillar in my life. A woman of virtue who taught me about the things I now know. She went through a lot because of me and I just couldn’t thank her enough. Life moved on and I lived everyday with the way it was presented.

One day, I came across Daniel who was my school father back at the school I attended in Lagos. I saw him at the university of Port Harcourt. I had gone to hand something to my uncle, aunty Mary’s husband who worked as a professor there. He was the one who saw me first and called out to me. I remember having mixed emotions when seeing him. I wasn’t sure if I was to be happy or sad or angry. It was just strange seeing him after a very long time. He looked really different. He kept a nice hair cut with a well-trimmed beard. He certainly didn’t look like the boy of yesterday. I mean this was about three years ago since the last time I saw him. He gave me an awkward hug and smiled at me for a while before speaking up. He asked so many questions from where I had been, what had happened and when I arrived Port Harcourt. I only told him that I had moved and started a new life after the death of my parents. He showed his condolence and made a joke in order to ease the tension that already formed in the air. He told me that he had just recently arrived Port Harcourt to continue his higher education. I didn’t tell him about my babies nor uncle Sam. I avoided anything leading to questions I wasn’t ready to answer. I spoke to him about a few other things before letting him know that I was on an errand. He asked for my contact but I couldn’t give him any because I didn’t have at the moment so the last thing he said to me before I left in a hurry was; “I’ll see you some other time, Meso. Take care.”

Many times I had cried to God, tears of thanksgiving because he had given me a second chance. Yes! I was abused by a man who was supposed to be my uncle but I had also given him the opportunity to do the many things that he did to me. I was manipulated, deluded and abused but because I was blinded by what I thought to be love at such a young age, I put myself at risk and caused a lot for myself. Even when I was raped by this same man, I still let him into my life because I believed he would slowly heal the wounds that he had caused me. I gave myself to a perverted man who used me to fulfill his own pleasure. The many lies that then, seemed like they were genuine. I used to look at him like a father, a good-hearted uncle, a loving and caring man because he in the past, was always there for me, my family and had good intentions. I didn’t know what went wrong and the unexpected happened. If he was still alive, the nonsense could have continued and maybe things would have gotten out of hands. Each time I look at my babies, I remember the day a mistake began. I remember the man whose own relatives didn’t want to remember. I think and think of the many explanations I would give to my babies but each time I hold them close to my chest, they remind me of the second chance I obtained and I never cease to thank God.

THE END

Thanks for reading Forbidden Love and pardoning my mistakes. I  truly appreciate your time.

Forbidden Love Review

Mesomma who was nicknamed Meso was a young adolescent who fell into the wrong hands. Exposed to many things and deceived at such a young age. She falls in love with a man who is supposed to be her uncle and who she thought was the fatherly, caring and loving man. Uncle Sam like she normally refers to him was a man of deceit and a man full of his own self. He uses Meso as one of his tools for pleasure as he was a man who never saw his own mistakes. He pretended to Meso just like the way he did to the many girls he was with even at the same time he was defiling Meso. And then marries a woman in order to keep a respectable status. A young girl corrupted and abused because society was blinded, actions were misinterpreted, prevention was avoided and intentions were acted upon

Thoughts on Forbidden Love

I hope this story has in a way positively affected you like the way I was while writing it . I actually came across a lot of things and even became aware myself of the many things that I have previously ignored. Even though this story is of fictional characters, it only reveals a tip of the iceberg because I know for certain that much worse things have happened. I only hope that as much as you enjoyed reading the story to the end, you not only read it to pass time, fulfill leisure purposes but also learned a few things and became much more aware of the things happening in our society.

Thank you once again for reading. I appreciate your time, patience and encouragements.

FORBIDDEN LOVE (EPISODE 25)

The bus finally mentioned someplace and I signaled to the conductor that I was stopping there. He gave me my change and I was soon, dropped off at my destination. I looked around, not knowing what to do next or where to go next. It was getting darker and a few shops were already closed. I looked around to see if I would find somewhere to get shelter. I wanted to stay in an area that wasn’t crowded by people so when I looked around, I found a spot just across the road. I looked around and made sure the road was clear before crossing the road. When I got to the other side of the road, I went over to the closed shop that I had spotted. It had a small shelter I guess were made for customers so I went over to a corner and laid there. Throughout the night, I couldn’t sleep. I thought about a lot of things. I thought about what I had done and what I planned on doing. It dawned on me that I ran away from my family and in a place I couldn’t even tell if it was still Lagos. It dawned on me that I was about to do something that years back wouldn’t have crossed my mind. I would never have predicted the present. I cried in silence because I felt like I was alone. I was very scared. I kept shedding tears before falling asleep.

The next morning, the sound of a cock woke me up. I had a headache that made it impossible to think straight. It looked like it was about 6:00am. Some shops were already preparing and getting ready to open. I had to leave where I had slept because I didn’t know when the owner would arrive. Like I had thought about the previous night, I was going to look for a hospital that could help me carry out my plan. I was naive enough not to have known or remembered that I could not just walk into a hospital and meet a doctor to help me with an abortion. I didn’t remember that it wasn’t that easy. All I knew was that a doctor would help me execute my plan. I had once seen it in a movie where young school girls went to the hospital themselves to abort the baby so I thought it would be that easy. I stood up from where I had laid and set out to the street. Still not knowing how to get to the nearest hospital, I decided to go to the bus stop anyway. Maybe I would find people who would direct me, maybe I would find help, I thought. I was feeling very weak, not sure why but I resisted the feeling and tried to be strong.

When I got to the bus stop, I looked around to see if I would find anyone to ask for direction but everyone seemed so busy. It was either they were rushing to catch a bus, attending to customers or walking really fast. I managed to see a man who didn’t look as busy as the rest. He was just standing beside a shop so I walked up to him and asked for direction. He told me the buses to enter and asked for some money in return. I had no other choice but to give him some money so after speaking to him, I set out to catch the bus.

As I stood by the side of the road, a car stopped by me. Remember Femi, the man who came to look for uncle Sam some time ago, he was the one in the car. He called out to me smiling warmly;

“Hey fine girl Mesomma, how are you? Long time.”

I went closer to the car, pretending like nothing was going on in my life. “I’m fine sir”

“Sir? Naa I told you my name is Femi. You can just call me Femi. What are you doing here far away from home? I was actually going to see your uncle this evening even though I haven’t called him yet.”

When he said this, I knew he hadn’t found out about the news of uncle Sam so I pretended still.

“Oh I’m going to get something somewhere.” I said, completely ignoring the part about uncle Sam.

“Oh! I see. Do you mind if I drop you? A girl like you shouldn’t be on the streets alone, you know.”

“I’m okay sir, I’m actually at my destination, thank you.”

“It’s okay if you say so. Maybe we could hang around some other time. I’ll see you later this evening.”

As he said this, I only faked a smile. He didn’t even hide his perverseness. I could see that he had other intentions. From the look in his eyes to the way he spoke. Maybe he didn’t know my age, maybe he didn’t know I was still a young confused teenager. At fourteen, a lot of people already told me how grown and mature I looked. Maybe that was what got to my head to do and allow the stupid things I regret. He smiled before driving off. I sighed in relief because I didn’t want him to know the truth. I didn’t want him to know what had happened neither did I want him to know my intentions. I went over to the bus stop and was walking to enter my bus when I heard my name.

“Meso! Mesomma!”

I looked back and to my surprise found Mummy Nonso, a woman that sold bread and akara on my street. She was very fond of I and uncle Sam but when I saw her, I felt a strange feeling. I felt a type of energy that I had never felt before. It made me very stiff and before I knew it, my name was the only thing I could hear.

I woke up and found myself on a hospital bed with my relatives around and Esther who sat beside me looking very worried. She looked like she had been crying and I couldn’t help but feel very guilty. I tried remembering what had happened and how I came about a hospital bed before recalling that I met mummy Nonso on my way to the hospital. I bet she was the one who called my family but how? I don’t know. She wasn’t even around.

When they saw that I was awake, they came closer and my aunt asked about my well being. I managed to say that I was fine even though she still didn’t look bright. I held Esther who didn’t seem to want to leave my side. I could only guess that my aunt knew I was pregnant. When the doctor came to check up on me, my aunt told Esther and my cousins (they were two, one around the same age as Esther and the other younger) to go get something to eat so we could be left alone. After the doctor examined me, he spoke about my condition. He said that it was not uncommon to go through what I was going through because the cardiovascular system undergoes a lot of changes during pregnancy but because I was still very young, it was much worse for me. He said that the fluctuation in my blood pressure was part of the cause of the fainting and because of my diet. After he explained all these to my aunt and I, he exited the room. My aunt finally spoke up after a two minutes’ pause with a very pained look.

“Meso, where did you go? Why did you leave the house and gave us a scare? Ehn….even when you know your uncle just died.”

Nothing but tears came to my eyes before speaking;

“I was scared. I knew that everybody would be disappointed when they found out. I didn’t want to bring shame to our family aunty. I’m sorry”

“Meso, it doesn’t matter what has already happened. Sam’s wife already told us about your pregnancy. She is even on her way here. True, it is disappointing but we don’t even know any other thing apart from the fact that you’re pregnant. It is possible that you could have been raped. You are still a small girl Meso and even though I didn’t want to believe my ears when I heard it too, I know you that you know better Meso. What happened?”

When she said this, I didn’t know if to say the truth or just lie to her like I planned to in the beginning. I was so embarrassed and disappointed at myself.

Watch out for final episode.

FORBIDDEN LOVE (EPISODE 24)

As we got to the hospital, aunty Jennifer rushed to the front desk at the reception and asked the lady behind for some information concerning uncle Sam. I had anxiously been waiting for her in the waiting area while I watched her talk to the lady behind the desk. Then I saw a nurse coming out from somewhere and aunty Jennifer going to meet her. I stood up when I saw them talking because aunty Jennifer was looking really distressed. The nurse walked away immediately I joined them, so I asked aunty Jennifer about uncle Sam. She didn’t say anything for a while, then sat down on the closest seat as she said;

“They said he’ll be fine hopefully Meso but that he lost a lot of blood due to the shooting and car crash.”

All that rang in my head was ‘shooting’. Uncle Sam was shot? I almost said out loud. I was so scared because I knew that there was a probability he wasn’t going to make it. At that moment, he was in the emergency room so I bowed my head and said a little prayer. I asked God to help uncle Sam so he could live again. I begged God and promised him that he would change his ways and I would change mine as well. In my mind, I thought God wanted to punish us for the things we had been doing behind the curtains. I looked at aunty Jennifer who sat beside me with her face buried in her palms. She was muttering some things and I could see she was really worried. Tears were rolling down her eyes and I joined her in tears. Not just because I was worried about uncle Sam, but also because uncle Sam and I were guilty of a crime that if only she knew, would be so disgusted with us and feel even worse. She looked up and saw me crying, then held me close to her chest, whispering to me that it would be alright. She also said a little prayer and I whispered an ‘Amen’. Aunty Jennifer was a good woman. As much as I loved uncle Sam, I knew she deserved a better man. A lot was going through my mind as my head rested on her chest. After about an hour, a doctor came out to meet us at the waiting area.

“You must be Sam’s wife and his niece”

Aunty Jennifer stood up and responded with a ‘yes’.

“It’s a miracle he’s alive.”

When we heard this, we sighed in relief and thanked God.

Then the doctor continued, “….Please come with me to my office.”

We followed him to his office and he spoke to us concerning uncle Sam’s condition. He told us that uncle Sam was really lucky to have still made it even with the shooting and car crash. He also said if he hadn’t been brought to the hospital immediately, we would have probably be mourning him already. Then aunty Jennifer said she wanted to see him so the doctor picked up the landline, dialled a number and spoke to someone, before a nurse walked in. The nurse was asked to escort us to uncle Sam’s room so we left with her. We got into his room and saw uncle Sam in the worst condition we had ever seen him. He had bands on his left arm extending to his chest area. He had a drip placed on his wrist with an oxygen mask resting on his nose and mouth. He really was in a horrible state. He was asleep, so we took our sit on a couch that was in the room. None of us could say anything because we were still trying to believe the state of uncle Sam. It was not a pleasing sight at all. Uncle Sam woke up after some hours. It was about 10:00pm in the night. Neither I nor aunty Jennifer closed our eyes to rest. We had been waiting for uncle Sam to wake up so when he opened his eyes, aunty Jennifer went and sat beside him. I just sat where I was and watched them both. I watched as aunty Jennifer leaned in and pecked him on the cheek. He was trying to smile at us but I could see he was in pain. I was only at peace because he was alive. Aunty Jennifer had asked if I wanted to go home and I had told her that I was fine staying with them so we were up till about 2:00am.

At this hour of the night, uncle Sam suddenly started gasping for air. I couldn’t understand what was happening because he was using an oxygen mask. My heart was racing as aunty Jennifer signaled to go get the nurse or doctor. I ran out and returned with a nurse who checked and saw that his oxygen mask was working fine. She tried doing so many things but it didn’t take long before uncle Sam stopped breathing. The nurse looked at us and said he was dead. He was recorded as a dead man right there and then, in our faces.

“eeehhhhhhh, eeeehhhh, Sam! Sam! Samuel!” aunty Jennifer who was right beside uncle Sam shouted while crying and gripping him.

The only thing I can remember is that at that moment, I blacked out. I woke up beside a very sad aunty Jennifer who was seated on a chair with some people I guessed were her colleagues, consoling her. She had even stopped crying. She was just mute. I looked around and found myself laying on a hospital bed with a drip placed on my wrist. Then, my eyes went straight to the wall clock that hung on the wall directly opposite me and saw I  that it was almost 2:00pm. I was about to get up when one of her colleagues asked me to lay back while she goes to get the doctor. The doctor came into the room and checked me up. He said I was discharged but decided to spill the result of my blood test, they had obtained when I passed out.

“Do you know that you’re pregnant?” the doctor asked, looking down at me.

I looked around first and saw that everyone in the room heard the doctor including aunty Jennifer who laughed sarcastically before maintaining an expressionless face. The people around her were just talking to her I guess trying to console her. I thought I didn’t hear properly after the doctor broke the news. First, uncle Sam was dead, and then me being pregnant. This had to be a dream.

“Pregnant? I’m pregnant?” I asked the doctor in a surprised but sad low tone.

“Yes! Miss Meso, you’re one month pregnant. You haven’t had any symptoms?” I shook my head in reply to the doctor as I began to shed tears. How was I pregnant and didn’t have any symptoms? I did miss my period but I thought it was normal after I learnt about irregular periods. It didn’t even cross my mind that I could be pregnant. I was definitely pregnant for uncle Sam. I cried even more when I remembered that he was no more. There was obviously no other explanation. I remember it was about a month ago when uncle Sam came to lie with me the night we almost got caught. I didn’t want to believe my ears. Not after uncle Sam already passed away. What would I say to aunty Jennifer? How will I tell her that uncle Sam was the father of my unborn child? What would I tell my sister, my relatives? This would be too much to bear in just a day. I thought about uncle Sam and I didn’t know whether to cry that he had gotten me pregnant just before his death or to cry that the man I once said I loved and couldn’t do without was nothing but a corpse. I couldn’t understand what was happening. Everything was too confusing. Was uncle Sam really dead? Am I really pregnant? I couldn’t even say much again so the doctor spoke to aunty Jennifer and I in his office before we left the hospital. One of aunty Jennifer’s colleagues drove us home. Even when I had just heard the news of my pregnancy, the only thing I could think of while seated in the car was uncle Sam. I let down the tears that I had been trying to control but hid it so that aunty Jennifer who sat beside me wouldn’t see me. She didn’t even say anything to me. Nothing about uncle Sam or even my pregnancy.

Nobody in the car even acted like they knew I was pregnant. Neither did any of us mention uncle Sam. I looked to my right where aunty Jennifer sat and found her in a worried state. Her face was swollen from crying a lot. I was expecting her to ask me questions concerning the pregnancy because we were both seated at the passenger’s seat, behind. I was ready to lie to her that I was once raped by a stranger but she didn’t say a single word as we drove home. It even scared me because I thought she would have guessed uncle Sam as the father to my baby. When we got home, we saw cars packed both outside and inside the compound. Everyone was waiting for us to come back because of the news of uncle Sam, including his families and friends, except my relatives who lived outside Lagos and Esther.

As I got inside, I went straight to my room with tears still in my eyes. I sat on my bed as I wept bitterly. At that moment, some of my aunties and uncles walked into my room and came to console me. They sat beside me and told me to take heart even as they were trying to console themselves. Everybody had a worried look. When the doctor had said he survived, I didn’t know things were yet to get worse. I thought he would live and things would be different after the promise I made to God. Nobody couldn’t just believe that uncle Sam would leave this soon especially after just getting married. I even heard aunty Jennifer from the sitting room wailing and screaming on top of her lungs for her husband to be brought back home. She shouted for a while, then kept quiet before continuing with her lamentation. She bitterly cursed and cursed the armed robbers who had caused the accident.

My relatives who surrounded me thought I was mainly crying for uncle Sam but I was crying because of the guilt that I felt, because of his death and because of the baby in my womb. They didn’t even know I was pregnant except aunty Jennifer and a few of her colleagues who still hadn’t said a word about it. I wished I could turn time or change a lot of things but it was too late. It was probably when he was coming to pick me up, that he got attacked. This thought caused me to blame myself for everything. From his death to my pregnancy and the pain everyone was going through.

I had a plan. I suddenly stopped crying, then wiped my tears and told my relatives that I wanted to sleep so I could get some privacy. Only one of them stayed with me for a while before I was left completely alone. I told myself that I wasn’t going to keep the baby so I decided to abort the baby on my own. I even thought of committing suicide because I believed it to be the best decision for myself. I didn’t want to live to see the shame and disappointment that I would bring to my family when everyone finds out that I was pregnant for my dead uncle.

To leave the house, I had to pass through the back door so no one could see me. I had already gathered all the money I had saved from the times uncle Sam gave me money. I put them into my small shoulder bag, put on a sandal and left my room. The back door was in the kitchen and my room was on a corridor which was the closest room to the kitchen. The kitchen wasn’t around the sitting room where everyone was present so I was able to get out of the house through the back door. I didn’t see Mohammed at the gate so I ran out as fast as I could, making sure that I wouldn’t get caught.

I managed to escape and walked as far as I could from the house. It was dark after sunset and I had a scarf tied around my head and face so no one could easily recognize me. I was crying as I was walking. I finally got to the bus stop and entered the first bus that stopped at my front. I didn’t even want to know what kind of bus or where the bus was headed to. I just wanted to be as far away as possible from everyone I knew.

To be continued……

FORBIDDEN LOVE (EPISODE 23)

After taking my eyes off Uncle Sam with the anger that was boiling up in me, I looked back at the lady who was standing in front of me with a smiley face. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before she broke the silence.

“Uhm Meso, why don’t you go and wash up, then come and have lunch. There is enough food to get everyone really tired.” the lady said.

I didn’t want to seem rude or anything so I smiled and replied with an “Okay” before heading back to my room. I washed up, got dressed and decided not to go out. I was really pissed so I laid on my bed and played with my phone. As I was playing with my phone, I got a message from uncle Sam saying to please come outside and behave properly, that he was going to talk to me about the whole thing later. At first, I hesitated and wanted to be stubborn but I didn’t want his fiancé to feel like I’m unnecessarily stubborn so I left to join them outside. She asked me to dish out what I wanted. From the vegetable soup to the jollof rice to the  fish stew to the fried chicken. I couldn’t understand why she had to cook this much but I went to the jollof rice pot anyway and dished out a little portion. I was about to head out of the kitchen when she called me back and said to take chicken and meat from the small cooler. I did as she said and I was called back again but by uncle Sam who asked if the food was enough for me. I let him know it was very okay for me without trying to express any feelings or emotions, then I left the kitchen for my room. I was hoping they wouldn’t call me to join them at the dining table since they were going there to eat. I stayed in my room and ate my meal all by myself. It was actually really delicious and I began to think Uncle Sam was getting tired of my cooking. I knew he wouldn’t get married to me but I also knew that most of the attention he had been given to me would be given to his soon to be wife. Each time I thought about it, I became so sad.

A month later, I felt like I was forgotten because uncle Sam barely spoke to me or say the sweet things he always said. He didn’t sneak up on my bed in the night like he used to or even kiss my forehead goodnight. He was always busy, coming home later than uaual and I began to get worried. You know at a very young age, when you lose the attention that you were once given, you feel less loved. I only consoled myself with the fact that uncle Sam had promised to take me to Port Harcourt to see my sister after my junior WAEC. Uncle Sam finally came to talk to me one night about everything that was going on. He said  he still loved me but he had to get married and move on with his life like I would move on with mine. He explained a few other things that I obviously knew and understood but I wasn’t willing to accept the fact that he was right. I knew he was my uncle, my late dad’s brother. In fact, I knew whatever feelings I had for him or vice versa was absolutely wrong. But I didn’t see it as anything anymore, not after he was the same person to take away my virginity at a very young age. This weird feeling got weirder every day and I got to live like that.

He announced to me one night that his wedding would be coming up in two weeks and even though he wasn’t doing much, he wanted me to be happy for him. I couldn’t understand what was there to be happy about. He was getting married and I would be the one tossed into the gutter so why was I supposed to be happy. Before his wedding, I started my junior WAEC so I tried as much as I could to forget about him or his wedding and what not. I made sure that my school came first this time. I suddenly didn’t care and started digging into my books. I even started talking to people that I never really talked to in school since I was a loner like I was already tagged by some. I wouldn’t say I made friends but I began to know and talk to certain people. Everything was going fine until my uncle’s wedding eve. I slowly became sad and angry at myself and uncle Sam. After I let him use me to fulfill his sexual pleasures, he was going to get married and I may become his wife’s slave. I would be the one at lost.

The next day which was a Saturday, my uncle finally got married to his fiancé just like that. It all happened so fast I couldn’t believe it. Surprisingly, I saw Esther, my aunty and my cousins at the wedding even though it wasn’t a big wedding. I was surprised because they had told me that they wouldn’t be able to make it for uncle Sam’s wedding but I guess they really wanted to surprise me. I couldn’t stop smiling when I saw them. I hung out with Esther who had added weight and my cousins. They looked so bright and happy. I was happy to see them and to see that they were really happy. Even though at the end, Esther became really sad. She had almost cried that she missed me and our parents. I felt really bad because I couldn’t help her.

After the wedding, they made them stay over at one of our distant relatives’ home. They were going to be heading back to Port Harcourt the next day. I also joined them, just to leave the newlyweds to themselves for the night and spend some more time with my sister. I kept smiling and trying to cheer Esther up while catching up with what’s going on in her life. I had spoken to her few times on the phone but you know it would be way different when in person. So we talked about a few things and later allowed her to rest since they had to leave the next day.

The next day, I said my goodbye with tears in eyes and hurt in my heart as I watched them leave the house in a Taxi. It was time for me to go back home so I was dropped off later in the evening. Thankfully I didn’t have an exam the next day until two days later so I could rest from the whole drama. I got home and met uncle Sam and aunty Jennifer on the couch relaxing and watching tv. Then I greeted them and went straight into my room.

In order to cut things short, three weeks later, I ended my junior WAEC. I had just Lagos state exams left. By this time, everything was normal at the house. Funny enough aunty Jennifer was really nice. Initially, I thought she was going to turn me into her personal house maid like what happens in the movies. Most especially because she was recently married to a man that has his niece under his and now, her care but she was just a really nice person. Maybe she was just pretending, I thought to myself several times because she was just too nice. She cooked most times, cleaned sometimes and bought me things. I started to see her as a loving mother. She was quite young but she acted like a mother with experience, so loving, mature and wise. I started to think less of uncle Sam and feel really happy for her and her marriage. The fact that I got to meet a wonderful woman instead of what I thought would be of me when uncle Sam gets married made me happy too.

One night, uncle Sam snuck into my room and came to lie with me. I was very shocked as to why he was in my room by the middle of the night after two months of being left alone. He suddenly started kissing me all over and tried to take off my clothes but I refused. I refused to let him touch me and was whispering a ‘No, no, no’ so no one could hear, then he got angry. He said I didn’t love him anymore and filled my tiny head with lies that made me feel guilty and so I allowed him sleep with me. After he was done using me as his sex toy, I didn’t feel the same way I did like the other times he had laid with me. I felt different, I felt horrible and guilty. I felt disgustingly strange. I felt like I had just betrayed aunty Jennifer which got me really disturbed. Now, he kissed me goodnight and was about to stand up when we heard aunty Jennifer call out uncle Sam’s name.

I was suddenly so scared because what would be his explanation If he was found in my room by the middle of the night. He left my room immediately and I quickly adjusted my nightgown before pretending to be asleep. I heard uncle Sam say something about him going to check if there was light so the generator could be turned off. I’m sure she would have been confused because it was Mohammed’s job and not his but the liar that uncle is, would have come up with something else to remove any trace of suspicion.

I didn’t see uncle in my room again after another week. Probably because he was trying to avoid getting caught like he almost was the other night. Although, he always texted me, whether I was in the same house with him or not. I didn’t say a word to aunty Jennifer about the other night as guilty as I felt. She didn’t have any suspicious look either so things went on normally until the day things got worse. I had just finished all my exams for junior school and uncle Sam had promised to take me out. I was actually excited and couldn’t wait to spend time with him just as my uncle and nothing more. It wasn’t only because I wanted to spend some time with him but because I was happy that I was finally done with junior school. I had managed to carry my phone to school that day even though it wasn’t allowed. This was because uncle Sam said he was going to text me before he comes to get me since I already told him what time my last paper was going to end. I waited in school for about an hour and didn’t hear from uncle Sam. Another hour went by and all the jss3 students that had been running around all happy and excited that exams were over were already leaving for their homes. It was getting late so I decided to go home disappointed in uncle Sam than wait till it got really dark. I got home and no one was home yet. I checked the messages I had sent to uncle Sam and not a single reply yet. I decided to change and have my dinner while I wait for him to come home.

I was in my room when I heard someone come in so I went out to see who it was and found aunty Jennifer. I greeted her and she asked about my wellbeing, my exams and even Uncle Sam. I told her everything was fine but that I hadn’t seen Uncle Sam. She said ‘okay, my dear’ and left for her room. But before she left, I asked if she was hungry and she said not to bother myself, that she would eat when she was hungry so I went back into my room. Just five minutes later, I heard a scream. I jumped up from my bed and rushed out to see the reason for it. I found aunty Jennifer on her feet standing by the dining table with a very sad look on her face while talking with someone on the phone. Before I could even ask what was wrong, she told me to go get her car keys. When I came back with them, she told me that we were heading to the hospital because uncle Sam had just been involved in a terrible accident while trying to escape some armed robbers.

To be continued……..

FORBIDDEN LOVE (EPISODE 22)

Uncle Sam returned that night around 11:00pm. I had slept off on the couch in the sitting room while waiting for him. So the time I saw him was when I woke up in his arms while I was being carried to my room. I remember sleepily asking why he was late and if he wanted to eat. But he only told me not to worry and just go to bed. He placed me on my bed, covered me with my blanket and kissed my forehead good night before leaving my room. I must have been so tired because It wasn’t up to five minutes when I drifted to dreamland again.

I woke up the next morning to a sharp pain in my lower abdomen. It was that time of the month and I was feeling very moody. My bed sheet was stained and I had to still prepare for school. I managed to stand up even with the pain, change my sheets and got into the shower to prepare for school. I woke up quite early so I took my time because the pain wouldn’t even allow me go any faster. To add to my pain, I had a terrible headache. I wasn’t just myself that morning. I tried to prepare breakfast for I and uncle Sam since he used to leave the house at the same time I did. When I was done with the preparation, I tried to eat but I couldn’t eat much. I only forced myself to eat two slices of bread and a boiled egg so I could take some drugs. I was prepared for school but uncle Sam wasn’t out yet so I decided to go check up on him.

I knocked on his door twice and then the third time, he announced to come in. He asked why I was knocking as he had told me I could come in whenever I wanted. That wasn’t the case that morning as I wasn’t even in the mood so I told him I had come to check up on him since he wasn’t out yet. He was still in his pajamas which was surprising so I asked why he wasn’t dressed. He told me that I had forgotten he took two days off work. That was when I remembered he mentioned it to me on Friday night. I wasn’t really sure why he took two days off work because he wasn’t travelling and he didn’t look as tired as he used to be. I told him I was ready to go to school and was about to leave when he said to wait for him while he gets his car keys so he could drop me off. I told him not to worry as I could take public transport and immediately he squeezed his face.

“I told you not to say that whenever I’m around. Can’t I take you to school?” he said looking pissed.

I apologized, telling him that I didn’t want to disturb him and his frown turned into a smile. He put on a hoody, picked his car keys and we left the room together. When we got to the gate of my school, he held my hands and whispered I love you just before I was about to get down from the car. I smiled at him and said I loved him too before getting down from the car. He couldn’t kiss me like he would if we were alone because we were in public. People could easily sight us from the car. I remembered that I hadn’t told him about his friend that came around the previous day so I told him about the man named Femi as I was standing beside the car. After speaking with him about his friend for a while, I waved him off before heading to the school’s gate to sign in. Immediately I was done signing in, I heard the bell for the morning assembly so I quickly ran to my class which wasn’t very far to drop my bag. After dropping my school bag, I left for the assembly ground with the other students.

Assembly was quite long because there were a lot of announcements especially concerning the jss3 students. The pain I felt in the morning came back. I hated when I was on my period because no amount of drugs ever made the pain go away permanently. I endured the pain until we were done with the assembly. That day felt really slow and I could not wait to go back home. I was tired and frustrated with all my classes. We had extra hours for all our subjects so it was pretty intense due to the coming up junior WAEC. Later in the evening, we closed two hours after all the other students had closed. I ran out of school to catch a bus home. It was already 5:00pm and I couldn’t wait to see uncle Sam and spend the rest of the day with him.

When I got home, I came in through the gate and saw that two of his cars were still parked in the compound so I knew he would be around. I actually expected him to have come to pick me up but it wasn’t a problem. Sometimes I preferred taking the public transport anyway, especially when I was moody. I got in and smelt the most amazing aroma ever. Uncle Sam must have decided to surprise me, I thought. A smile broke on my face as I walked into the sitting room. It soon turned into confusion as I sighted a fancy handbag laying on the couch that definitely didn’t belong to me. Then I saw the rest of the belongings that belonged to the stranger that I was yet to meet. I heard voices in the kitchen as I walked into the sitting room, one that definitely belonged to uncle Sam and a woman. I decided to drop my things first before heading to the kitchen. So as I dropped my bags, took off my shoes, I went straight to the kitchen.

To my greatest surprise, I saw uncle Sam wrapped around the arms of another lady who were both resting by the kitchen sink. Nothing but anger rushed through my veins by the sight. I couldn’t believe my eyes. They not only were wrapped in each other’s arms but were also kissing and laughing. As angry as I was, I spoke up since they hadn’t noticed my presence. “Good afternoon,” I said. That was when they both looked up and saw me standing beside the door. There were food items, both cooked and uncooked all around the kitchen.

“Good afternoon Meso! You’re back from school.” Uncle Sam said.

I could see a lot of expressions on his face. The kind filled with guilt and confusion.

“Meso, this is Jennifer. Jennifer this is Meso, my niece.”

He said introducing us to each other. The lady stretched out her hands towards me for a handshake and as confused and angry I was, I shook her hand. Immediately, she smiled and said;

“Your uncle’s fiancé. Nice to meet you dear”

I wasn’t sure I heard right when she said fiancé. I faked a smile and glanced at uncle Sam who had also been looking at me. He must have known what was running through my mind.

To be continued……

FORBIDDEN LOVE (EPISODE 21)

I slept off while thinking of Anabelle, Daniel and my sister. When I woke up, it was about 2:45pm so I went to the kitchen to prepare lunch. Uncle Sam wasn’t back yet so instead of dishing out his food immediately, I dished out just mine and got back to my room. After eating and washing my plate, I decided to read since the last time I opened my books was Friday evening. Junior WAEC was coming up and I wouldn’t say I was very prepared but I was ready. I read for about three hours taking little breaks until I got really tired and bored. I was so tempted to call uncle Sam and ask when he would be returning but I just couldn’t. He was probably busy and I didn’t want to disturb so I went out to the street for a stroll.

I walked all the way to the end of the street and turned around to head back home. As I was walking back home, I felt like I was been watched which made me so uncomfortable. I looked back and saw a car slowly driven behind me. I kept walking like I hadn’t noticed until the car pulled up beside me. I stopped and looked to my right where the car had stopped. I saw that I didn’t know the man who was behind the wheels so I started walking and even picked up my pace when I saw the car still following me. I got confused and really scared as to why I was being followed.

On getting to the gate, I told the gateman to lock the gates as I was being followed by someone that I didn’t know and he obeyed immediately. But as I was heading to the door of the house, I heard a car horn. I thought about the man in the car that I had just seen but I also remembered that uncle Sam wasn’t back yet. I stood at the front door of the  house watching Muhammad, the gateman go out of the gate. At that point, I knew it wasn’t uncle Sam because he easily recognized when it was uncle Sam. I still stood there waiting and watching for what was going to happen next. Finally, Muhammad came in and opened the gates for the car to come in. My heart began to beat faster when I saw it was the same car that was following me. I thought Muhammad was crazy to have let the man inside until I saw what happened next. The man parked, got down from his car and went over to meet Muhammad who was still closing the gates. Then, Muhammad bowed, greeting him and hailingg him. He kept shouting “oga oga” and I couldn’t understand. Then I heard him say “Long time, oga” and my nerves were calm. I guessed he must be a friend of uncle Sam. They greeted each other and I saw him give some naira notes to Muhammad.

When they were done chatting, I saw him heading to the door. By this time I already locked it and pretended like I hadn’t been watching from the door. He pressed the bell and I immediately left the corner where I had been peeping through the window. I let him press the bell one more time before I went over to open the door. I don’t know why Muhammad didn’t tell him that uncle Sam wasn’t around.

“Good evening sir” I said, when I opened the door.

“Good evening, fine lady.” he replied.

He looked young just like uncle Sam, if not a bit younger. He had a nice outfit on with a breathtaking cologne. I stood there waiting for him to say something.

“Is Sam around?” he asked but before I could reply, he continued.

“My apologies, My name is Femi, I am Sam’s friend.” he said, stretching his hands out for a handshake.

I shook him and replied him with;

“He isn’t around. He went out since morning and isn’t back yet.”

“Oh! Wow! and do you know when he would be back?”

I shook my head and he looked really disappointed.

“I’m sorry.” I said to him, I don’t know why.

“That’s fine. It’s not your fault. I wanted to surprise him as I haven’t seen him in a while but I guess I was in for a surprise instead. Where would Sam go on a Sunday? Crazy man.”

“Would you like to wait?” I offered, since we had been standing at the door for about five minutes.

“Okay, I’ll see if I can wait.” he said and I opened the door wider for him to come in.

As he sat down, I put on the television and dropped the remote beside him and then asked what he would like to drink.

“I’d have five bottles of beer. Ha ha! Just kidding. I’ll just have water, thanks”

I don’t know if he found himself to be funny or charming but that was just annoying, I thought to myself. I went in and out of the kitchen, returning with a bottle of water and a glass cup placed in a serving tray. I set it down on the table and served him the water.

“Thank you, fine lady.” he said and I just faked a smile.

I didn’t even find it flattering. As I was about to head back to the kitchen, he called me and asked to keep him company. I was very nervous and didn’t want to stay but I wanted to be nice to the guest so I sat on the couch opposite him. He looked at me weirdly for a while before he started with his questions. He asked a few random questions before asking who Sam was to me. I told him he was my uncle and he looked very surprised. He hadn’t completed the question asking how old I was when I asked to be excused. I lied that I had left something on the fire. Why didn’t I think of that in the first place? I don’t know why. I was feeling really uncomfortable around him and I needed to leave his sight. Not long after I was sitting on the kitchen stool trying to get hold of myself, I heard him say,”Hello? Hello? Young lady?”. I knew he was calling me as I hadn’t mentioned my name yet so I stood up and went into the sitting room to meet him. He was on his feet and saying he had to leave so I escorted him to the door. But before he left, he asked for my name and I replied “Mesonma.”

To be continued…..

FORBIDDEN LOVE (EPISODE 20)

That Sunday morning, I got out of uncle Sam’s arms, leaving him snoring on the bed. I went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. I fried some plantain and egg then boiled water for tea. I wanted to be done before he was awake so I could serve his breakfast immediately. He always enjoyed when his breakfast was ready before he was awake and I had taken joy preparing it for him always. I had been draining the last set of plantain when I felt someone from behind hold my hands that held the plantain in the strainer. I knew it was uncle Sam so I turned to face him before greeting him. He planted a kiss on my forehead and greeted back.

“Hmmm, Meso will not kill me with food. Who knew the small Meso of those days could take care of a grown man like me. Why wouldn’t I be happy?” he said smiling at me.

I only blushed and served his food on the dining table where I joined him. We talked about a few things laughed about some until he kept a straight face. He stared at me for a while before he said;

“Meso! I love you so much okay? I’m not going to let anything harm you or your sister. I know so many things have happened in the past and so many things are happening now but it’s what we call life isn’t it? Just let me know whenever you need me. Any time you need my help, you know where to find me Meso.”

I looked at uncle Sam for a while before saying;

“I wish Esther lived with us”

“Meso, you know the reason why Esther stays with your aunty. She is still much younger than you are and needs guidance. Remember everything that was explained after the meeting with everyone two years ago. I promise that it won’t be like this forever. You will get to be with Esther soon. They all just want you to finish your secondary school in Lagos first. And you know all about cost as well. See…..”

At this point, uncle Sam stood up and bent down close to me. He held me close to his chest while he consoled as tears were already streaming down from my eyes. He continued with his talking and consoling until I told him I was okay and not going to cry anymore. It became quiet for a while and I decided to ask him a question;

“Can I ask you a question?” I said to him.

“Of course! You can ask me anything.” he replied.

“Sam, when you get married, what will happen to me?”

He must have been very shocked because he paused for a while and just before he was about to answer, he heard his phone ring so he excused himself and stood up to get it from the room. I immediately stood up, packed the plates and took them to the kitchen. I decided to wash the plates, then clean the house as uncle Sam was not yet back from where he went to get his phone. After I was done with the cleaning, I retired for my room. As I got into my room, I heard uncle Sam call me from the living room so I quickly went to answer him. When I got there, he was all dressed up in a casual outfit. Before I even asked, he already said he was going to meet up with a friend and I was surprised because It was just 11:36am on a Sunday. Nevertheless, I didn’t ask further because I knew he was a busy man. He brought out some naira note and told me to use it to  get anything that was needed by me or the house. He was very fond of doing that. It was a Sunday and I wasn’t planning on going anywhere so I told him, we didn’t need it as usual but he insisted I kept it anyway so I collected it and thanked him. As usual, he pecked me on the lips and went out the door while I shut it close.

I got back to my room, went to take a shower and after went straight to lay on my bed. I hadn’t been to church for over a month and I didn’t have any reason. Uncle Sam didn’t also care as much because he always said he wanted to spend the Sundays with me alone. Even though he didn’t mind if I wanted to go to church, I never just did for a while. So as laid on my bed, I thought about a lot of things. I remembered Anabelle who used to be my close friend that I hadn’t spoken to in a while. I also thought about Daniel, the senior who was my school father and it made me miss them a lot. I remember I used to get in touch with Anabelle but after a while, we lost contact. I never even spoke to Daniel after that day he got suspended for beating up a student. I used to ask Anabelle about him but she always told me that she hadn’t seen him in school either. I still felt guilty because everything that happened to him was all because of me.

To be continued……

FORBIDDEN LOVE (EPISODE 19)

Two years later

After the death of Mesonma’s parents, their relatives came to a conclusion on who would be responsible for both Mesonma and Esther. As much as they didn’t want them separated, Esther was to move in with one of their aunties while Meso was to move in with uncle Sam in order to reduce cost and reasons only known to them. Things were not so smooth the first few months after the death of Meso’s parents because there were a lot of changes and transition. She was separated from her sister, separated from friends and her old life basically. She also had to change school where she eventually lost contact with Anabelle, her close friend and Daniel, her school father.

******************************************************

Meso’s pov

It was a Sunday morning and there I was in the arms of a man who I thought I loved and cherished. Uncle Sam who had crept into my bed the night before held me close to his chest as he kept slept while snoring noisily. He had made love to me and filled my ears with nothing but love words the previous night. This was my father’s brother. Yes! You are about to say how wrong and filthy it is but at that point in my life, he made me as happy as I could be. He made it seem right, so I thought anyway. When I look back, I wish I hadn’t allowed it.

At the age of 14, I was already experiencing the things I never thought I would at such a young age. Uncle Sam had promised to love me forever no matter what. He had mention so many things I always wanted to hear and he succeeded in winning my heart over with them. I was so young yet I knew what it all meant. This was the phase of my life when I thought I wouldn’t be able to live without my uncle.

It all started a few months back when I had been seriously down. I had been feeling down because I felt like my world was turning upside down. I was being bullied at school and called ugly several times. I was missing my parents and my sister. I was never just in a good mood. This particular Friday evening, uncle Sam came back from work and I didn’t go out to greet him as usual. I was actually just sitting down on my bed in my room with only a towel wrapped around my body. I sat at the edge of my bed crying silently. I was drowned in my own thoughts that I didn’t realize uncle Sam had been calling out for me.

I recall uncle Sam coming into my room like he had just seen a ghost. He came and sat close to me trying to get me to say what was wrong with me. He had said he was calling out my name but because I didn’t answer, he decided to come check me in my room. I remember that the stench of his breath was very discomforting. He had had a few drinks again. Even though he wasn’t usually drunk, he wasn’t still in his full senses. I didn’t care at that point, didn’t care about anything. I was just very upset with life. He held me close, still insisting that I tell him what was going on. So I finally spoke up and told him about everything. How much I was being bullied in school, how much I missed my sister, how much I missed my parents and how upset I was at life itself. He only consoled me and made promises. Promises to make it up to me, promises to always make me happy, promises to do what ever it would take to make me see life as meaningful again.

I don’t know why this happened but it suddenly became quiet and uncle Sam held my face, bringing his lips closer to mine. I don’t know why I didn’t move but I let him take charge. He slowly took off my towel and crashed into me. I didn’t struggle, didn’t object. I let him do to me whatever he wanted. He said he loved throughout that night while he made love to me like he would call it. Because I didn’t know the meaning of everything, I told him I loved him back with tears rolling down my eyes. I thought that was what love was about but deep down I knew it didn’t feel right. My heart aches each time I remember that night because I didn’t fight back. That was the beginning of a forbidden love. Something that should never have been called love in the first place.

To be continued….

FORBIDDEN LOVE (EPISODE 17 AND 18)

When senior Daniel saw the boy was so weak, he finally left him and stretched his hands towards me. At this point, I became really scared. I don’t know if I was scared that the boy senior Daniel just beat was probably dead or because I had never seen senior Daniel in that state. I hesitated because I knew he meant I should hold his hands but he grabbed it anyway and we left the scene with the boy still lying on the floor. As we were leaving, I looked back to see if he was going to move and when I heard him cough, I became a little calm. At least, he was still alive, so I thought.

That night things became even worse, there was so much noise in the hostel. Boys and girls were all screaming and I couldn’t understand why. I already left senior Daniel for my hostel so I was in my room talking with Anabelle and telling her all that happened that night. The noise became louder so we decided to go out and find out the reason. When we got out, we realized almost everyone was leaving the hostel for the hall so we joined them and not long after, we heard someone ring the bell and shout; “All girls! Move to the dining hall.” Then, we knew it was an announcement as It was already past dinner time. I began to hope it wasn’t because of the encounter I had with the senior boys and Daniel.

When we got to the dining hall and everyone was settled. The house master spoke up by greeting us first and then going right into the message. He said someone was in serious condition as he was beaten up by one of the students. This time, I knew it was because of what had happened. He mentioned that the student was unconscious for a while but was now conscious and being taken care of in the school’s clinic. He said so many things but didn’t mention the reason behind it. He only advised every student to be aware that there would be a serious consequence for a student who is involved in a fight. He also said that if someone else does wrong, we don’t have the right to beat them up but report instead. I knew senior Daniel was in big trouble. After the message, all students were asked to leave for their hostels except me who was told to wait behind.

After all the students were dismissed, they took me to the hostel office where I saw senior Daniel and the boys that almost raped me except the boy senior Daniel had beaten. We were spoken to for a while and then asked to write a statement. We were told that the principal had already heard about the incident and would take it up tomorrow. I was so sad that everything had become so serious. I wished all that happened never did. I was sad because someone had been hurt and there was a possibility that senior Daniel would be punished. After we were done with our statements, they told us to leave for our hostels, I couldn’t even talk to senior Daniel.

When I got to the hostel, I told Anabelle why I was told to wait behind and she just hugged me, hoping that everything would be okay by the next day. We packed our luggage that night as we were to close for the holiday the next day and when we were done, went to bed. I really hoped that tomorrow wouldn’t be a rough day due to the incident.

To be continued……

Forbidden Love (Episode 18)

The next day at school, the siren went off for our morning assembly. I was certain that assembly was going to be long as it was the last day of school and the incident that happened last night was going to be talked about. After our normal activity on the assembly, the principal walked to the front on of the students for the usual announcement but with a very stern look. She cleared her throat before speaking and then brought up the incident that happened the night before. She said basically everything the house master had said that night and said the boys were not going to go scot free. I wasn’t mentioned because I was just a victim but they did mention that a girl was almost raped by them. Senior Daniel unluckily wasn’t going to go unpunished either for beating up someone to an unconscious state. The three boys who had almost raped me were expelled while senior Daniel was suspended. They were all called out by the angry principal and flogged by the strictest teacher in our school, Mr. Alabi.

Assembly that morning got some looking very excited, some looking very serious and the rest unhappy. The principal made mention that anyone who committed an offence like them or even close would also not go unpunished. I was so sad for senior Daniel because I knew it was all because of me. I started feeling very guilty. If only he had just left the boy when he was still very much okay, this wouldn’t happen. I needed to talk to him but I couldn’t get hold of him because they were all taken to the principal’s office after. The drums began for us to match back to our classes.

Later that day, Anabelle left school for her house as her parents’ driver had come to pick her up and a few minutes later, I was told that my uncle was waiting to pick me up. I was actually expecting my parents to come for me but anyway, I was happy I was finally going home. Even though I wasn’t as happy as I thought I would be, because of the case of senior Daniel, there was nothing I could do. The principal had called me earlier and spoken to me about the whole situation, consoling me and being thankful to God that senior Daniel came on time even though he still ended up doing something wrong. I was pushed to say that senior Daniel be left alone since he was only trying to help but I couldn’t because he wasn’t supposed to overly react and beat someone almost to death.

Anyway, I went to meet uncle Sam who was waiting for me at the hostel gate. He smiled when he saw me even though I felt it didn’t look genuine, He hugged me and told me to go bring my luggage. After I was down with my luggage, I signed out of the hostel and drove off with uncle Sam. The uncle Sam I knew didn’t say much while we were in the car. I was tempted to tell him all that had happened but I kept quiet as the atmosphere didn’t seem like it was convenient enough. When we got to my house, excited to see Esther and my parents (that is, if they would have been back from work), I jumped out of the car. I went to bring out my luggage from the car when uncle Sam told me not to worry as he would help me with it. I skipped happily into the house shouting Esther’s name. I saw Frank who didn’t look so bright but greeted him as he opened the door for me to enter. As I got in, I saw a lot of shoes at the end of the corridor. My parents and visitors! What are they celebrating this time around? or do they want to welcome me from my first come back from the boarding house? I thought to myself.

When I entered the sitting room, I saw a lot of my relatives, including the ones I barely see all looking like a bad omen was in the air. They did not look bright at all. I greeted all of them, looking around looking for Esther and my parents who were not in sight at all. At this point, my smile was beginning to turn into a frown. I looked at uncle Sam who came up behind me and asked him for Esther. He swallowed hard and told me that Esther was in the room. Without even waiting for anything, I slowly left them in the sitting room and walked into the room to meet Esther with aunty Mary who was holding and consoling crying Esther. I went up to them very quickly and confused asking the reason why she was crying. Esther who had been crying looked up at me and hugged me immediately. I hugged her back very tight and asked why she was crying.

I got to find out that my parents had an accident on their way back from the village where they went for my cousin’s wedding. They had passed on even after they were rushed to the hospital. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard all of it. I kept screaming to be woken up from a bad dream. Why must I, at that young age face such? I just didn’t know what to do. I was about to run mad. My eyes became very watered and sore as I cried non-stop. I kept on crying, not listening to my aunties and uncles who were trying to console me. I kept telling them to go and bring my daddy and mummy home. I was not ready to settle with the news I had just heard. Why would so many things happen within a short period on the day I was finally coming home. After counting down days to go home with Anabelle, after senior Daniel had been expelled, another horrible news. There was no way I was going to settle for less. I kept trying to leave the house but they kept pulling me back.

Uncle Sam finally took me away from everyone so he could talk to me in private. He held me close and consoled me. He told me to be strong for my sister, Esther, as she needed me to be as strong as I could be. I kept asking him what I did wrong for my parents to leave us behind. I was now an orphan, barely gone anywhere in life. My parents hadn’t seen me graduate yet. My mum hadn’t danced at my wedding like she promised she would in future. Everything just didn’t seem right. I mean, I did hear of deaths from other close family members. My parents even helped in any way they could to support them but I didn’t think their turn was going to come this soon. I was just twelve years old and my sister still eight. It was a lie, it’s not even possible, they were still alive, I kept telling myself. I came to accept it later on and decided to be the strong senior sister for my younger one, Esther. Life I thought, was useless without my parents.

To be continued….

FORBIDDEN LOVE (EPISODE 16)

Three weeks later…..

Life went on as usual, assignments to do, tests to read for, calls from home and even uncle Sam. Trust me, I took life like nothing serious had happened before. I let go of the past, not that I forgot or wasn’t still hurt but it wasn’t as hurtful as I imagined it would be. As long as I wasn’t pregnant or ill and no one knew about it, It didn’t bother me. I was just fine, so my young mind made me believe anyway. I still got to see senior Daniel at our usual spot who just always made me happy. At least, he still had one more year to spend before leaving secondary school. I would really miss him and all his caring and loving features, I kept telling myself. I was even closer to him than I was to my school mother.

Speaking of my school mother, senior Onome. She called me one evening after prep and told me to come arrange some things in her room. As much as I hated going to seniors room, I obeyed. When I got to her room, she pointed at a heap clothes on her bed and asked me to fold them neatly and put in her locker. I really hated her that moment as I was doing an assignment with Anabelle. Anyway, I started folding the clothes and I noticed they weren’t the normal type of clothes you would expect students to have with them in the hostel. They were fancy and actually pretty. I saw some dresses that got me looking for the hand and some I thought were smaller than her size. While I was arranging, I slowly chipped into senior Onome’s conversation with her other friends.

They were talking about parties and boys and what not, not that I really wanted to hear it but their voices weren’t as low either. I heard one of the seniors say something about ‘doing it’. Although I didn’t understand at first, I knew what she meant when she said some other things. She was talking about how much she enjoyed her first time with a married man and this time, my eyes opened with shock. But as shocked as I was, I made sure it wasn’t obvious that I heard. She mentioned some other things about how she gets money from them just by having sex with them, calling it ‘a small thing’. Not only did she say married men, but our school teachers. I could remember her mentioning Mr. Pete, one of the science teachers. The man had always been a pervert anyway. They went on and on with topics like this and I could see them jumping up and being all excited. Senior Onome and the other senior wanted to try all the things the other girl had been saying so they were too engrossed in their topic to notice that I was done with the clothes. As I was about to leave, senior Onome finally noticed and called me back.

“Ehen Mesonma! Did I tell you to leave? Am I done with you?” senior Onome spoke out.

I shook my head not saying a word.

“I hope you didn’t hear anything. If you open this your mouth to say anything about us ehn. You’ll know how far. Get out.”

I ran out of the room not looking back. I couldn’t believe my ears. I always knew things like this occurred in school but it was just my first time hearing it from the executors themselves. I didn’t forget it instantly as I thought about all they were saying. They made everything seem so right. I mean my mates were already having boyfriends with boys even their seniors and doing things that you wouldn’t imagine them do. The seniors even did worse and some teachers were even involved. I just came to think that it wasn’t bad after all. I thought it was a normal thing and so I didn’t see it as something wrong even though Anabelle still saw it as something not right.

The next Saturday, my uncle with Esther came to see me. He had said Esther really wanted to see me. And since my parents weren’t able to bring her, he had offered to bring her as he also missed me. Remember I made mention that I was no longer angry with my uncle. I was actually happy to see him. I talked and played with Esther until it was time for them to go home which got both of us really sad. Uncle Sam told Esther to wait for him in the car while he spoke to me for a while.

“Can I sit at the front now uncle Sam?” Esther asked.

“For now, just sit there but you know when I come, you’ll have to sit at the back”

“Okay…,” Esther replied with a sad face. She always wanted to sit at the front but they never allowed because she wasn’t always behaved. And she could be a distraction to the person driving even though children under twelve weren’t adviced to sit at the front.

Anyway, in order not to digress, I spoke to uncle Sam for a while and he asked about school and everything in general. Saying he couldn’t wait for me to come home for the break. He mentioned how much he loved me and I told him I loved him too. Despite the fact that he did what he did to me in the past, I still thought he was very loving and caring. He fed me with a lot of things that I enjoyed hearing. Things that I didn’t hear often. This was my uncle but it started to feel like he wasn’t. It felt different, more like a boyfriend. Yes, very stupid of a thought especially because I was still so young and he was my uncle but it felt that way. Maybe because I wanted to feel what my other mates said they felt with their boyfriends or maybe it was just because of the situation and the way my uncle was. I really couldn’t tell. I hugged him when we were done talking and went back to my hostel.

Now this was when things got…..

After the term’s exams, we were usually supposed to stay in school a week before going on our holiday. I guess it was because they wanted to finish compiling our results for us to have them before going home. Some people lived in other states and very far from school so it was more convenient.

On a very calm night, Just two days before school was to close for the break. I was returning from where I went to meet senior Daniel when I saw some other senior boys at the extreme end of the uncompleted admin building calling out to me. Initially I thought they were saying something else or calling someone else but I noticed it was me when I saw that there was no one else around. I did like I didn’t hear because they didn’t look like they were in their right senses and I knew that corner wasn’t safe either. I kept walking hoping that they wouldn’t call out again but I was wrong. They all walked up to me and grabbed me scolding me for not answering but it didn’t end there. They dragged me to the uncompleted building even when I was shouting for them to let me go. I struggled and struggled and hoped it wasn’t what I thought they wanted to do to me. These boys didn’t even look like high school boys even though they were. They were big boys who looked drunk of some sort.

I kept struggling and started screaming when I saw one of them fumbling with his belts and trouser. I screamed and screamed thinking this would be another case of rape. I couldn’t and wasn’t ready to go through it again. I almost bit the one pressing me to the ground but he realized on time and removed his hands. The two boys kept on telling the one pressing me down to be fast. At that point, I was ready to give up but I kept screaming and not long after senior Daniel came to my rescue. I guess he had just been leaving our spot when he heard me scream. Immediately senior Daniel got to where we were, two of the boys ran away. The other one who was pressing me to the ground was too slow as senior Daniel punched him in the face. He kept punching him and I could see the anger in his eyes. That was the first time I saw him very serious and angry. I began to get scared for the boy so I started pleading for him. I told senior Daniel to let him go as I was okay now but he didn’t even listen to me. He kept beating him up even as I kept pleading. I could see blood on his face and how weak the boy was getting until he was too weak to even move.

To be continued….

FORBIDDEN LOVE (EPISODE 15)

As the doctor said I wasn’t pregnant, I opened my eyes in shock and then sighed in relief. I wanted to express how happy I was but not in front of the men with me. I looked at uncle Sam who looked like he had just managed to escape death. I was so happy I didn’t know what to say. I finally muttered a “thank you Jesus” before turning to the doctor and saying a ‘thank you’. He just smiled at me and told me it was all the result. He explained to us that I had something called Pseudocyesis, the belief that I was expecting a child when really I wasn’t. He also said this belief caused me to have symptoms of pregnancy as It was a psychological effect. Because I knew the signs and symptoms of pregnancy and assumed I was pregnant, I began to have actual symptoms of pregnancy. He mentioned a lot more that got uncle Sam and I overwhelmed but relief at the same time.

After a while, uncle Sam thanked the doctor and exchanged a few more words before we left the office. As we got into the car, Uncle Sam looked at me as I was seated beside him. He smiled at me, saying how happy he was and apologized for everything over again. I smiled, nodding at him. He said I hadn’t said much since I got back from school and asked if I was hungry. Without even giving me a chance to reply he said;

“I’m sure you’ll be so hungry, let’s go and get something okay?”

I just nodded as he drove off to a restaurant where we got a takeaway package and headed for his house. As we got home, I went straight into the room after saying a thank you which when I look  back, I ask myself why I did so. I thought of home and wondered if they had tried to reach me. I knew that if my parents eventually found out I was with uncle Sam, he would cook up something to say. All I needed was to think of the whole lie I was going to tell Anabelle.

That Saturday evening, uncle Sam asked If I was ready to go back to school and I said yes. We were supposed to leave the next day but I had told him that I wanted to go back to school and catch up with a lot of things. We left the house and got to school in no time but just before I got down from the car, he brought out some 500 naira notes from his wallet. He stretched his hands towards me, gesturing . I didn’t want to collect it but he insisted I collected it, so taking it and putting it inside my school bag, I thanked him and headed for the hostel gate.

As soon I as got in, I signed in and went up to my room. The first person I saw was Anabelle who screamed and ran to hug me. I was so happy to see her even though it wasn’t up to a day since I last saw her. My other mates also ran to hug me, welcoming me and asking a lot of questions. I just gave them one excuse and they didn’t ask further. Anabelle hugged me one more time and asked if I was okay. I told her I was fine and mentioned the same excuse I gave the rest. I really made up my mind not to tell anyone even Anabelle, my very close friend. We talked and later that night, did our assignments together during prep. She even mentioned that senior Daniel had been looking for me. I actually couldn’t wait to see him.

The next day, we all got up as we heard the morning bell to prepare for church as all the declared Christians were to meet up at the school’s chapel by 9:45am. We usually had breakfast early on Sundays so I and Anabelle finished our meal on time and headed for the school’s chapel. When we got there, we decided to sit down while we waited for the service to begin. There were a few students in the chapel as well and I thought I saw senior Daniel but it turned out it wasn’t him. I was looking around to see if I would sight him but he was nowhere to be found so I turned to face Anabelle who had been ranting over and over about random things. When the service was over, I was walking with Anabelle back to the hostel when I heard someone call my name. I looked back and saw that it was the errand boy, the same junior boy senior Daniel sent to me whenever he wanted to pass a message. He told me I was called by senior Daniel who was at his usual spot waiting for me. I looked at Anabelle when he said this and she gave me the gesture that I could leave and so she said to meet her at the hostel. The junior boy went his way while I went to look for senior Daniel. As I got towards the quiet place I usually met with him, I could see him leaning on the tree as usual and just playing with a stick or so.

As he looked up and saw me, he smiled at me warmly but then squeezed his face. I was trying to figure out what he would say this time. I got closer and we hugged before he asked;

“what took you so long?”

“I came immediately now,” I said to him smiling.

“Why can’t I just get mad at you. You’ll be deceiving someone with your charms.” he replied rolling his eyes jokingly.

“I’m sorry now”

“Don’t mind me. I was just pulling your legs.”

“I hope you’re fine, this one that you’re always looking skinny. Ehen! when I asked Anabelle to call you for me when I wanted to speak with you. She told me you weren’t around. Where did you go?”

“Oh! I went home.”

“Home? Why? Was something wrong?….I know, I’m asking too many questions.”

I gave him the same excuse and he believed me. We talked for a while and then he said he had to go. He handed me a nylon that was quite heavy and when I opened it to check what was inside, they were filled with cookies and Lucozade. I asked why he had fetched all of this and he said;

“You that if they should touch, you’ll just break. I know you complained that you were feeling weak the night I spoke to you so I went to get this to give you strength like mine, I got them from the tuck shop so don’t worry,” he said, winking at me.

I just smiled and thanked him before saying our goodbyes as I headed to my hostel.

To be continued…..

FORBIDDEN LOVE (EPISODE 14)

FORBIDDEN LOVE (EPISODE 14)

Continuation…..

The next morning, I woke up in the arms of uncle Sam. I hadn’t realized we had cuddled up while sleeping. I slowly moved away from him but as soon as I got up, he woke up. He looked at the wall clock just opposite him and jumped up. I knew we were already running late for the appointment. He told me to quickly take a shower while he also gets ready and so I left to other room where I was supposed to have stayed for the night. I only had the shorts and shirt I had brought with me, which I wore on Saturday mornings in school for our morning exercise.

Anyway, I took a shower and got dressed. In no time, we were done and ready to leave the house, so he locked the doors behind and we drove off to the hospital. When we got to the hosptal, I looked around lost, knowing that it wasn’t the same hospital my parents usually brought I or Meso to whenever we needed to see the doctor. We got into the reception and uncle Sam told the nurse about our appointment before she asked us to take a seat in the waiting room. I looked around really nervous and I guess uncle Sam noticed it because he looked at me, and held my right hand. I swallowed and tried to hide the fact that I was as scared, nervous and whatever you could call a state that was just scary and unexplainable. I was scared that I was going to have an abortion which I hadn’t really heard pleasant things about. Something I had never thought I would ever do. I was pretty young to understand a lot about what was going on, what to do or say so I went with the flow hoping that I would be leaving the hospital without being pregnant. My heart was pounding because nobody knew any of this except uncle Sam and I…………and maybe the doctor and nurses soon.

At that point, I didn’t even care what the doctor or any of the nurses would think of me. I was so embarrassed with the whole situation, I just wanted it to be over. I wanted to burst out and cry like the baby I was. I saw the sadness in uncle Sam’s face. I saw the anger in his eyes. He was definitely angry with himself but it didn’t look like it, only I could tell, so I thought to myself. After about five more minutes, a nurse came up with a file in her hands and called uncle Sam’s name so we both stood up and followed the nurse behind as she led us to the doctor’s office. She knocked, opened the door and let us go in before shutting the door and leaving us to the doctor.

“Good day Sam Sam, how are you?” he said as he stood up to shake uncle Sam.

“Samo! Doctor, Mr. Samuel Adekunle! Nice to see you again. You know ever since you became a doctor, I haven’t called your nickname in ages. Ahh Samo! Nice to see you. Nice to see you.” uncle Sam replied.

The way they talked, laughed and exchanged words got me thinking that they were long time friends.

“This is my niece, Mesonma and Meso this is Samuel, my long time friend.” uncle Sam said introducing us to each other.

I fake smiled at him and greeted him before he asked us to take our seats.

“Mesonma, your uncle here already told me about everything so I’ll just ask you a few questions before you take the pregnancy test. Don’t worry, I know you’re nervous but it will be okay.” the doctor said with a warm but professional look.

I looked at uncle Sam before I nodded, I can’t remember why. The doctor started with his questionnaire, from when last did I see my period to how I had been feeling lately. I answered him as accurately as I could before he asked if I was ready to take the test. And when I told him I was ready, he took up the landline on his desk and phoned someone who was probably the nurse that was to help me with taking the test. In like a minute or two, we heard a knock on the door and a nurse came in. Then the doctor asked me to follow her to take the pregnancy test.

Uncle Sam’s Pov

As I watch Mesonma leave the office, I looked at Samuel who looked at me with a not so pleasing eyes. I knew what he was going to say next.

“Twelve years old Sam, ahn ahn, You no even try oo. Your niece again.”

“It’s okay now Samuel, I didn’t say you should start making me feel worse than I already feel. I know I was very wrong and I shouldn’t have done what I did but it has already happened. Trust me, I still feel very horrible about it. Thanks man for this though. I appreciate.”

“Honestly, don’t thank me because I’m really disappointed oo. Look at the kind of risk you’re putting me into. If not because of our friendship, I would never have agreed to such. Do you know what all these mean. Getting a small girl that is also your niece pregnant and asking me to help you with an abortion. Common Sam, you’re better than this. You need to change your ways oo.”

“Boss, I don hear you.”

We didn’t converse for too long before Meso came in with the same nurse she left with. And as Meso took her seat beside me again, the nurse gave Samuel, the doctor a file she had been holding.

Meso’s pov

As the nurse handed the file to the doctor, I sat down in suspense waiting to hear the results of my test. My eyes were fixed on the doctor and the file. The doctor waved for the nurse to leave and so as she left, he opened the file and after about a minute, he looked at me and said;

“Mesonma, you’re not pregnant.”

*******************************************

To be continued…..